Wait for Me to Come Home
by smile all of your days
Summary: It's been a year and a half since Kai left to help with the former Earth Kingdom, and he's coming home today. Jinora is, of course, excited! Inspired by Ed Sheeran's song, Photograph, but not a songfic.


**Hi guys! This is just something random, inspired by Ed Sheeran's _Photograph_. So, I'm currently a graduating senior at my school, and this song definitely has meaning for me, since my friends and I will be going our separate ways, and we'll be waiting for each other to come home to reunions and such. I also have a a bit of a crush on a best friend (yeah, yeah, I know, cliches) who is planning to leave for two years, living without much communication with any of us. So there's also the part of waiting for him to come home as well. And that incredibly long backstory leads to the story I imagined - just someone clutching a photograph, waiting for her best friend to come home.**

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"He's finally coming home," I whispered to myself for the thirtieth time that morning, a stupid grin breaking across my face.

The minor instability that had come from Wu giving up his position as Earth King and the transition into a democracy had quickly escalated into almost full-blown war between the cities. Since Korra hadn't returned at the time, my father agreed to send teams of Airbenders to the old Earth Kingdom.

We, of course, volunteered. Kai was accepted. I was rejected.

He'd told me, "Only a few weeks" as he gave me a quick goodbye kiss on the cheek. "Just wait until I get home," he said, green eyes smiling.

"Bison flying when you get back?"

"Sure," he said, holding me in a hug, grinning.

Weeks turned into months. Korra and Asami got back from the Spirit World. Rohan started bending lessons. Opal and Bolin announced their engagement. And still, Kai was in the Earth States.

I could remember a few specific details about his appearance: bright green eyes, messy brown hair, shaved on the sides, taller than me, although I couldn't remember by how much. Everything else was a blur. A year and a half ago, I could have pictured his face perfectly, not missing a single detail. Now, I needed the picture I always carried.

I pulled it out of my wingsuit, the black-and-white photograph we'd taken together just after Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding. He grinned cheesily, arm around my waist, and I was laughing, reciprocating the half-hug. I couldn't remember what he'd said, but I knew he'd made me laugh that day. I smiled, smoothing out the creases that were hazards to well-loved photographs everywhere.

It's not like we hadn't talked in one and a half years. We sent letters whenever we could, but Kai was on a mission and I was training the Airbenders while simultaneously protecting them from Ikki and Meelo. Needless to say, we were both extremely busy.

I didn't carry his letters with me. There were too many, so I just stuck with the one picture. The letters were carefully sorted into books on my bookshelf, since Ikki and Meelo couldn't be bothered to read and my father wouldn't touch my private library. He'd learned after I nearly blew the house apart when I was younger.

Loud banging on my bedroom door interrupted my train of thought and shook my spirit. I bent myself into the air, landing on the ground in an attack position. I forced myself to relax before I shouted, "WHAT?"

Ikki called back through the door, "Mom wants you outside!" She changed to an annoying, sugar-sweet voice. " _Kai's_ landing."

I grinned stupidly again, tucked my photograph inside my wingsuit, and jumped out the window, riding my airscooter to where we'd be meeting him.

I could see bison coming, just specks in the distance. I found my mom, and waited with her. She smiled at me like she knew what I was thinking, which she probably did. The bison landed, and I strained for a glimpse of Kai. My dad welcomed them back, thanked them for their service, and then announced dinner. I fought the crowd of Airbenders surging into the temple for food until I collided with a familiar face.

"Kai!" I cried, throwing my arms around his neck. _I definitely didn't have to reach that far before_ , I thought as I felt his arms pull me closer.

"Hey, Jinora," he said, voice soft by my ear.

After a quick, awkward exchange of "how are you"s, Kai offered me his arm. "Let's go eat, and then we can go flying tomorrow."

"Okay," I said, smiling.

In that moment, I knew our friendship was back on track, as if we'd hit the pause button when he'd left, and now we hit the play button again. We talked as if he'd never left, as if we'd seen each other just a few days ago. And my mom smiled at us, my dad nearly exploded, and Ikki and Meelo whispered and snickered at us.

But it didn't matter because, finally, Kai was home.

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 **Please review if you have time!**


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